A Different Familiar Moon
by Blue Eyes At Night
Summary: TIMELINE- Andre Marek's thoughts on leaving a world he was felt strange in and becoming part of a world he's a stranger in. One-shot. RR


A/N- Ok…so maybe I'm horrible. I promise to update my LOTR ficcy soon I just needed to get my Timeline fettish taken care of….Andre and Claire are SO PERFECT! Lol, movie based though the book was better.

Read/Review!

**A Familiar Moon**

It was strange, seeing the moon every night. The sun was different, it was only at sunsets and sunrises that you could define it from the sky anyway, and what did he care for sunrises and sunsets. He was up and moving before the sun rose, normally busy until long after it had set. Though he had caught them occasionally, they looked the same to him as they always had. Whether it was 2003 or 1352 he could not decipher a difference amongst the oranges, reds and purples that painted the sky. Those colors seemed the same to him, the sun, it seemed, had not changed.

No…it was the moon that bothered him.

Of all the things to be bothered by, of all the things to notice, why did he pick the moon? He could no more answer that question then he could change it. It seemed alien in the sky, it seemed that someone had taken a familiar object and tossed it a strange environment. Realistically, he reasoned that this was because the stars were not in the same place he was used to seeing them in; they were several hundred years behind the positions he had become so familiar with.

But it seemed different then that.

It seemed to him as though he and the moon were strange partners in this crazy place he had gone and gotten himself stuck in. They both fit in the modern world and the medieval one, and they did not completely fit in either one. Andre Marek could not forget his modern world. Sure, all his life he had been devoted to his history, dedicated to reconstructing the past, but when all was said and done, what had he done? He had gone home. Gone home to his Serta mattress, his hot shower, his air conditioning.

Now, he was stuck. He was stuck in a heaven he did not belong to. He was in a land, a place and a _time_ that he had longed for for so long, it seemed unreal even now. He was far away from microwaves and Nikes. On a more practical note he was farther away from condoms, soap and medicines. In all reality staying here had probably shortened his life expectancy by thirty or forty years.

He gazed at the moon with a deep sigh, was he the world's greatest fool?

"Andre Marek?" The accent that danced so oddly over the syllables of his name caused him to smile in spite of his dark thoughts. Turning he flashed a handsome smile at the reason he had stayed.

"It's just Andre to you dear, you know that."

"Do you want to be alone?" She asked, her brows knitted trying to figure out what he had been thinking.

He thought about it, did he? No, he hadn't come here to wallow in self-pity after all.

"No… no I was just admiring the view." He extended an arm, inviting her over.

Lady Claire nestled into the strange Scotsman and followed his gaze, to the full moon, hanging low in the sky admit a sea of stars.

"_C'est tres jolie._" She murmured, looking up at Andre.

His gaze hadn't moved from her as he nodded, "Yes, quite beautiful."

Blushing she quickly reached forward and claimed Andre's lips in a quick, chaste kiss. As she pulled away from it he trapped her, pressing another kiss to her.

After it ended he looked back at the moon, his eyes looking farther then the nighttime sky, even in the dark Claire could tell his mind was far away. She leaned her head against his shoulder whispering, "Why do you look at it so intently? What do you see?"

"I see….something familiar." He looked back at his wife, pulling his gaze from the moon and the memories it brought, "Where's Katie?"

Claire smiled, "Asleep."

"And Chris?"

Rolling her eyes, "In bed….I hope. It took three maids to chase him into bed."

Andre's smile widened and the hard lines on his face softened, he placed a hand on Claire's swollen stomach, "And the next wee Marek?"

Putting both her hands over his and leaned into a long kiss, "He is ready to go to bed, Andre."

Marek pulled her into his arms, "Well, I shall not be one to keep him up past his bedtime!...Go on, dear, I'll be there in a minute."

He spent a few more minutes thinking, about Chris and Kate and the Professor, about Burger King and cars and T.V. dinners. By the time he went to bed Claire was already asleep.

The moon, still visible through the sheer curtains separating their balcony from their bedroom, bathed her in a pale, silvery light and she looked like an angel. Taking in her big belly he corrected himself, she was better then an angel. She was real, she was his. The mother of his children, the love of his life. His wife. In all the years he had lived before he came to this time he had never considered marriage. True, he always envisioned himself getting married but he never met a single woman that he would tempt fate with… and then he met Claire.

As his eyes drifted close he saw the moon once more and thought, before sleep claimed him, that it didn't look strange at all.

It looked to be exactly where it belonged.

Fin.

A/N- Short and sweet I think, I LOVE Andre/Claire….Fabulous pair.

R/R!


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